Early Years
She was born Giuseppina De Micheli and took the name Sister Maria Pierina on 16 May 1914, when she took vows as a member of the Daughters of the Immaculate Conception, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sister Pierina did not initiate the Holy Face of Jesus devotion, for it had already been started almost a century earlier by a French Carmelite nun, Sister Marie of St Peter, of Tours, France. Both women claimed visions of Jesus and Mary as part of their motivation for following the devotion.
She had been aware of the Holy Face of Jesus devotion since an early age. From 1919 to 1921 she was sent to the motherhouse of her religious congregation in Argentina. While there, her attachment to the Holy Face devotion grew stronger. After her return to Milan she was eventually elected as the mother superior of her house and began to spread the devotion.
Read more about this topic: Maria Pierina
Famous quotes containing the words early years, early and/or years:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)
“No two men see the world exactly alike, and different temperaments will apply in different ways a principle that they both acknowledge. The same man will, indeed, often see and judge the same things differently on different occasions: early convictions must give way to more mature ones. Nevertheless, may not the opinions that a man holds and expresses withstand all trials, if he only remains true to himself and others?”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“The cloud was so dark that it needed all the bright lights that could be turned upon it. But for four years there was a contagion of nobility in the land, and the best blood North and South poured itself out a libation to propitiate the deities of Truth and Justice. The great sin of slavery was washed out, but at what a cost!”
—M. E. W. Sherwood (1826–1903)